my, my. haven't even talked about her caffeine intake. time for "newsroom" with fredricka whitfield. >> thanks so much, michaela, john, ana, i'm getting a charge just by hearing her torrey. who needs any more caffeine? you all have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com meteorologist of people in the cross-hairs of a major winter storm. >> stay off the roads. >> seems like it's been snowing since winter got here. >> 25 states will be hit, some will see up to a foot of snow and parts of the east coast are bracing for blizzard conditions. plus -- >> the helicopter is here to take us home. >> the snow dragon to the rescue trapped for nine days in the ice

off antarctica, passengers on board a russian research ship are finally going to head home. edward snowden should get asylum as the "new york times" surprise editorial that claims the nsa leaker deserves a deal because he did the country a great service. snap chat users you've been hacked. 4.6 million user names and phone numbers leaked online months after snap chat was warned about a major security hole. you're live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield in for carol costello. she has the day off. just minutes ago, a new pulse of the economy according to the labor department, jobless claims fell last week to 339,000, that's better than expected, and the lowest weekly level in a month. alison kosik is in the new york

bureau. good news to start a new year. >> it is good news to start the new year, what it basically shows is layoffs are slowing. the trick is we want to see more jobs being offered out there, more hiring going on. for that we look to the big cahuna, the government jobs report. that comes out a week from tomorrow, january 10th, the forecast is for 190,000 jobs created in december. in november the economy generated 203,000 jobs. december's unemployment rate is expected to stay at 7% but that 7% is still very high by historical standards this late in an economic recovery and that's the reason there's so little pressure for companies to raise wages at this point and also gives workers very little bargaining power and without more job opportunities and stronger growth in wages, the economy could be stuck in low gear for longer, but sooner or later, economists say companies

will have to add more workers as demand continues to grow, most companies can't get production from current employees without overtime or other added costs. >> thank you so much, alison kosik in new york. on the second day of 2014, the year's first big winter storms are bearing down on the midwest and taking aim for the northeast now an arctic blast will see highs in the single digits in parts of the heartland, look at these whiteout conditions and another storm, a powerful nor'easter is forming off the east coast. 70 million people are in the paths of these storms with winter weather advisories in 18 states that includes blizzard warnings for long island and cape cod, and a snow emergency in boston, there have been more than 1,000 flight cancellations so far this morning, take a look at the map, pretty clustered there, and more are expected. we're covering every angle of the arctic blast with correspondents and meteorologists across the midwest and east coast.

we begin with cnn's ted rowlands in naperville, illinois, just outside of chicago. >> reporter: good morning, fred it. has been snowing since new year's eve day and it just keeps on coming. throughout the night, snow continuing to pile up in chicago, millions from the midwest to new england will be impacted by the new year's first major snowstorm, bringing with it blizzard-like conditions and dangerously cold temperatures, some parts could see more than a foot of snow. >> seemed like it's been snowing since winter got here. >> reporter: boston declaring a snow emergency and planning to close public schools on friday. the massive winter storm already wreaking havoc. >> stay off the roads. >> reporter: more than 200 spinouts reported in minneapolis alone as ice blankets the roads. frigid temps complicating

rescue efforts in the twin cities, as firefighters had to be rotated in and out of the front lines of this raging apartment fire. >> our nozzles have a tendency to freeze up if we don't keep flowing water. >> reporter: in upstate new york, lake-effect snow is the story, more than two feet of the white stuff on the ground already. >> it was hard on the businesses last night because people had reservations to go out to new year's eve and couldn't get out. >> reporter: the deep freeze will have large parts of the country feeling temps well below zero. >> too cold. >> too cold. >> reporter: if you think that's cold take a trip north to winnipeg, canada, the temps hovered around 40 below zero, colder than the surface of mars. >> this storm is something else. >> reporter: it sure is something else, fred. the biggest problem, transportation. the roads very difficult to keep clear because it keeps snowing. they keep clearing them but it keeps come down and then air travel to over 1,000 flights canceled at o'hare, expect more today.

>> all right, ted rowlands, more of the same in naperville, illinois, thanks so much. another city in the storm's path, boston, where officials have declared a snow emergency citing high winds and possibly a foot of snow there. the state emergency management agency is predicting near blizzard conditions tonight into tomorrow morning. cnn meteorologist jennifer gray is live for us now, joining us from a snowy boston, so much for the sunshine state of florida, where you hail from, and get used to all the snow. how does it feel? >> reporter: yes, this is definitely a lot colder than i'm used to. with the windchill it feels like the single digits out here and folks in boston definitely waking up to a blanket of snow. look at this. it is so fluffy and fine, you can't even make a snowball out of this if you wanted to, but this is nothing compared to what they will see on their cars as we go through the in ex-24 to 36 hours. this is going to be a mess across all of the northeast, and

so folks are urged to just cuddle up indoors, stay off the roads for sure, even the city of boston telling people not to come in the city, use public transportation, and also get your cars off the road by noon today. so we're tracking this storm. it feels like 7 degrees right now in boston. very, very cold, and it's expected, the snow is expected to get much worse as we go through the late evening hours into tomorrow especially. these two areas of low pressure are going to converge in the northeast, rain in the south, snow in the north, and we could see snow totals of 12 to 15 inches of snow in boston, 6 to 8 inches of snow in new york city, and one to three inches of snow in d.c. areas like philly, pittsburgh, going to see the snow as well, we've already seen incredible amounts in the midwest and the northern plains, chicago picked up over five inches of snow, blizzard warnings even in effect for long island as well as the

cape, and when you have light, fluffy snow like we're seeing now, you add winds of 35 to 45 miles per hour, it is definitelying if to create whiteout conditions because the snow will be blowing all around, that's what's going to be so dangerous for people in the northeast tonight through most of tomorrow, and so by saturday this should be better. however, temperatures are going to stay well below freezing for some days now, at least through the weekend, so it's not going to have much of a chance to melt, fred. >> all right, but the folks there are very hardy, used to this. something tells me they'll endure. jennifer gray thanks so much. keep those hands warm. get some of those little warmers to put into those mittens. just a little tip for the day. >> reporter: i need some. >> thanks, jennifer. two major newspapers published editorial s urging th obama administration to have mercy on edward snowed opinion

the "new york times" and "the guardian" are call him a whistle employeer and pushing for the government to either drop its case against him or offer him a deal so that he can return to the u.s. without fearing life in prison. "the times" editorial board writes this, "considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed and the abuses he has exposed, mr. snowden desesrves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. he may have committed a crime to do so but he has done his country a great service. it is time for the united states to offer mr. snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home." snowden is currently in russia, where she was granted temporary asylum. he faises espionage and other charges in the u.s. for guiving journalists classified information about the nsa's mass phone and internet surveillance programs. cnn justiceer evan perez

is live in washington. any reaction coming from the editorial? >> not yet. edward snowden generates a lot of sharp opinion on both sides of this question, whether or not is he a traitor, as some people in congress have called him, or as some people, some of his supporters, some of his journalist supporters say he is a hero. he himself told "the washington post" recently that he felt his mission was accomplished already, but the question of whether or not the government can try to give him some kind of clemency, that's a complicated thing. for instance, snowden has allegedly took hundreds of thousands of documents, but he no longer controls most of those document according to the journalist that he has been working with. i asked attorney general eric holder this question a couple weeks ago and here's what he had to say. >> it's not something that i would support. i think that he has clearly

broken the law and harmed the nation that he claims to love. the conversation that we are engauged in is one that i think is certainly worthwhile to try to determine how do we safeguard privacy and keep the american people safe, how do we find balance in that effort with regard to our sur vauveillance activities but i would not say what he did is worthy of clemency. >> so as you can tell, there would be tremendous pressure on the other side to not do this within the government, fred. >> and so the snowden leaks overall, what, if anything, has been impacted by him revealing this classified information? >> well you know, there are some changes that are being contemplated right now, congress there's a discussion of some bills to pull back what the nsa is doing. the question of whether or not there's a big argument over what the nsa has been doing, whether

it's legal or not and it's clear that congress has authorized it, the president is in favor of it and authorizes it and the courts so far have signed off on what the nsa is doing. the question of legality is probably separate. the question of whether the government should be doing this, whether the nsa should be doing this is a more complicated question. you're talking about politicians who have to worry about whether or not there's a terrorist attack tomorrow, and whether they will be questioned later on, what the nsa is doing could have prevented those attacks, for instance. that's a much more complicated question and something for congress and for the president to decide. the president says he's going to address this next month and we'll see what he says, fred. >> okay, thanks so much. appreciate that, evan perez. still to come, stuck in antarctica's ice since christmas eve, now all 52 passengers on board the trapped ship have been rescued but wait until you hear how long it will be until they actually return home. i quit smoking.

i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq. [ cellphones beeping ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] hello? [ male announcer ] over 12,000 financial advisors. good, good. good. over $700 billion dollars in assets under care. let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

♪

we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. looking at our. stories, secretary of state john

kerry headed to the mideast for peace talks. the israeli government reportedly has delayed an announcement about new settlement construction. the move avoids a potentially high profile dispute during kerry's visit. and relatives trying to get a 13-year-old girl on life support moved to another medical facility, have a new ally, jahi mcmath has been declared legally dead, now the famently of teri schiavo is calling for jahi to be moved before the machines who keep her alive will be shut off. schiavo was severely brain damaged when she sparked a national debate over the right to die, she passed away in 2005. martha stewart living and macy's settled their dispute over the marketing of products under stewart's name. macy's says the deal doesn't

resolve its dispute with third party jcpenney. jcpenney agreed to sell products endorsed by martha stewart without her name. toronto's crack smoking mayor is expected to file paperwork this morning to launch a bid for re-election. rob ford has not been charged in connection with his drug admission or claims he tried to bribe suspected drug dealers to get a tape that shows him smoking crack. polls are mixed on his chances at a second term, the election is october. mission accomplished this morning, all of the 52 passengers on board a research vessel trapped in the ice in antarctica have been rescued. the reseveners and journalists who were stuck on the ship since christmas eve are now rejoicing. some even wept tears of joy. poppy harlow is live with the latest. this was an emotional roller

coaster for the passengers, they really seemed euphoric about being stuck but then rescue brought on a whole new host of emotions. >> that's true. can you imagine after a week watching that helicopter finally come and the weather be good enough to be rescued but their attitude through all this has been stunning, they have kept their spirits up through all of these failed aterp ed ed aterpt them. they've been stranded for more than a week, safely transported to an australian ice breaker but the stranded passenger's trip is far from over. ansa is estimating it could take until mid-january for the passengers to finally touch land. rescue efforts complete. >> the helicopter is here to take us home. thanks, everyone. >> reporter: by air and sea, teams have now successfully ended a complex operation to air

lift the 52 researchers and journalists who were stranded aboard a research ship off the coast of antarctica. the "akademik" stuck in ten feet of ice since christmas eve. >> if all goes well, we'll be out in about an hour's time. >> reporter: stranded passengers seen here stomping on the snow and ice, arm and arm, preparing a landing zone for the chinese rescue chopper. the helicopter transported 12 passengers at a time, flying them to the australian ice breaker "aurora australis." it took five helicopter flights to transport the passengers and lugage. the stranded research trip's 22 crew members will stay aboard. >> there was signs of relief and joy when they saw the helicopter coming in to land but i have to say, the morale has been surprisingly high the whole way through. i've been impressed actually. >> reporter: in the last week three ice breaking ships failed

to reach the stranded research ship, those missions unsuccessful because of bad weather and ice. >> the winds quite intense so not ideal for helicopter operations unfortunately. >> reporter: being trapped at sea for more than a week didn't put a damper on ringing in the new year. >> four, three, two, one, happy new year! >> reporter: breaking out in song. ♪ we're still song here, cha, cha-cha ♪ >> reporter: they shared their cheer all across the globe, with anderson cooper and kathy griffin in times square. >> a little bit. >> we don't want to tell tales. but there has been alcohol on the ship. >> very glad they got to ring in the new year with a little champagne even though they were stuck. fred the 22 crew members will remain on board. why is that? the master of the ship said they had plenty of supplies and they want to ensure keep operating the ship and eventually get it out of the ice. they need the winds to shift to move some of the ice that trapped them and then they can

get it back to land >> as for all of those who were rescued mid-january before they reached land in australia, is there no other way for them to get home, the long route? >> that's sort of shocking, why can't they get home in a day or so? they're pretty far out. the australian ship that they're on right now was actually on a mission to clever scientific supplies, diverted to be part of this rescue mission. frankly it still has to finish that delivery. we'll go along with that and head back and about mid-january it's estimated they're going to touch land in tasmania. i was thinking what is the first thing i would do? i'd probably go for a really long run. >> oh, yeah, that's it? i don't know, i'd look for a -- >> you can't do it on the ship. >> i guess you couldn't, and they have had food and all the vitals, so that's true, maybe it wouldn't be a great hot meal, so okay a nice run. we'll see if they take you up on

that idea. poppy harlow thanks so much. still to come, a popular photo sharing app hacked, lori siegel has details from new york. >> hey, fredricka. if you have a snap chat account you might have been hacked. i'm going to have more information about that, after the break.

and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible.

all right, now skype appears to be the latest victim of hackers tied to syrian president bashar al assad. the syrian electronic army took credit for busting open social media accounts run by the internet calling service. the group also posted contact information for the retiring ceo of microsoft, which owns skype, along with a message that accuses the software giant of selling user data to the government. microsoft officials did not immediately comment. and now another tech company is dealing with a massive data breach, snapchat is a popular smartphone messaging app that allows people to send photos and

videos that quickly kind of disappear. hacking group has posted the names and phone numbers of more than 4 million of its users online, cnn's lori siegel is following the story from it new york. it gets creepier and creepier, doesn't it? >> hacking in the news today, definitely, fredricka. when we look at what happened with skype, the syrian electronic army hacked skype's log and twitter accounts. i heard from someone from the s.e.a., the syrian electronic army and he said this was a hack but no user information was actually taken, but i unfortunately cannot say the same thing about snapchat which was a completely separate hack, not done by the syrian electronic army but let me get to the details. this was a pretty extensive hack. 4.6 million accounts affected in this data breach. phone numbers were revealed, user names revealed, and also this information fredricka was posted online and available for

anyone to download. the hackers that put this out there blurred out two dingities of your phone number but said they would consider putting those out there without the blurred digits and wanted to do this for good. why did you put this information out there if it was to help out but let me read you what they said in a statement. they said "our motivation behind the release was to raise the public's awareness around the issue, and also put public pressure on snapchat to get this exploit fixed." this is where we have to go to snapchat and hold them accountable, what are you doing to fix this. >> is there a way to find out whether you've been hacked? >> this is the first thing i did when i heard about this, because i use snapchat sometimes with my friends and there's developers put together a website, you can put your user name in there and if you look at the user name on your screen that's one of the co-founders of snapcha the and put in his user name it shows he's been hacked and shows his phone number with a couple

dingities blurred out, which is eye opening. i spoke to the folks from gibson security who initially talked how there was an exploit available, are we safe now? snapchat says they fixed it. he said they put a couple patches on there with a couple modifications this he can still do this exploit. if you're really concerned, delete your account. >> my goodness. every time any of us sign up for anything you're always nervous about your personal information, where will it go past this point and now i guess new inspiration for the leariness that we all feel. laurie segall, thanks so much. still to come, a big storm is headed for the big apple. alexandra fields is there live poised and ready. >> reporter: we're talking about sub-zero windchills and a lot of snow. new york city officials are getting ready and the crews are working around the clock. we'll have a live report coming up. [ female announcer ] right when you feel a cold sore,

abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell. unlike other treatments, abreva penetrates deep to block the virus, to protect healthy cells so cold sores heal fast. as fast as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. ♪ learn more at abreva.com. don't tough it out. knock it out! fast. [ female announcer ] only with abreva. knock it out! fast.

if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b,

are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. good morning again everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield in for carol costello this morning. right now wall street rings in a

new year and basks in the warm glow of the stock market's best year since 1997. cnn's zain asher is at the new york stock ex-change for the first trading day of 2014. happy new year, zain. >> happy new year, fred. >> what's in store for today? >> most analysts expect momentum to continue but probably not with the same gusto as in 2013. you're seeing the market down slightly right now so it looks as though traders are proceed preceding the year with caution. the s&p 500 rose 30% in 2013, 52 record highs on the dow. i asked traders what is the biggest thing on your horizon for 2014 in a lot of them are saying a market correction is actually long overdue so they are proceeding with some caution. cnn money did survey about two dozen analysts about what they expect for 2014, half of them expect a 5% to 10% gain, a fraction of what we saw in 2013,

36% expect a gape of less than 5% but most analysts expect the markets to rise. it wasn't a good year for stra traditional investments last year for gold but we expect stocks to be the cool kid in the market. fred? >> okay, good advice, good way to get the new year started. thanks so much, zain. meantime a massive nor'easter is headed for the northeast, where extreme winter weather is already forcing flight cancellations and prompting a blizzard warning for long island and cape cod. the big apple is expected to get five to ten inches of snow. cnn's alexandra field is there right now, it appears to be bone dry for now but not for long, you're going to have a lot of nice fluffy stuff behind you. >> reporter: absolutely, holding steady at the moment, we've got a little bit of a dusting overnight but the big stuff is ahead and preparations are kicking into high gear. the warehouse is full of salt and new york city is planning on using a lot of it in the come days.

we've seen the trucks pull in all morning, 365 salt spreaders are heading out of here today, along with that, they've got 1,of 00 city garbage trucks equipped with plows so they're already planning for a very big cleanup job here. in new york city the plows head out every time there is more than two inches of snow and we're expecting more than that, six to eight inches in new york city, even more snow on long island where there will be blizzard-like conditions, the city's trying to get ahead of this, this is the most snow of course that we have had all season, that's what is expected so the department of sanitation of new york says they will be staffed around the clock with 2,300 workers on duty getting ready for the snow expected to start later this afternoon, continuing into tomorrow, so if you thought that we were just going to sort of ease into the new year here, if you were hoping for that, well you have' got another thing coming, it isn't just the snow that we're talking about here in new york city, high winds are also going to be big issue here and out on long island and it is these sub-zero windchills that are

heading our way and you can already feel that chill in your bones, fred. >> wow, i believe it. all in time for the first weekend of the new year. alexandra field, thanks so much. today two maimer newspapers are calling on president obama and the u.s. government to give nsa leaker edward snowden mercy so that he can return to the u.s. the "new york times" and britain's "the guardian" are praising snowden's leaks calling him a whistle-blower, "the times" editorial board writes this, "considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed and the abuses he has exposed, mr. snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight." "the guardian" editorial board writes this about the leak saying, "that was an act of some moral courage. we hope that calm heads within the present administration are working on a strategy to allow mr. snowden to return to the u.s. with dignity."

joining me to talk about it is cnn political commentator and republican strategist anna navarro in miami. anna, are you on board with making the case for snowden to be granted asylum in the u.s.? >> absolutely not. and you know, i think the obama administration is not either. we have heard susan rice, the top nsa official assuming she's got her talking points this right saying there's no way that will happen and shut it down. it would set a dangerous precedent, like paying blackmail to somebody who compromised the u.s.'s national security secrets who has cause international incidents for the united states and palling around with some of the folks who are the most anti-american in this world like putin and the chinese government and also people who go and crack

down on dissidents and crack down on privacy, you think there's privacy in russia or china, mr. snowden? he could have stayed here, made his case as a whistle-blower. he could have stayed here, he would have gotten a fair shake from the media and where we have a judicial system that may not be perfect but far better than anything they have in siberia. as far as i'm concerned, fred, i hope he's really enjoying thoroughly enjoying the russian winter. >> maria, his proponents say he's a patriot, he argues that spying op. cell phones, e-mails is not justified for the sake of national security. what's at stake if the u.s. listening to those grounds were to grant him asylum? >> well i think, fred, where most solutions lie, the solution to this lies somewhere in the middle. this is a debate that was clearly needed and that i think is the service that snowden gave us, which is to have this public debate. >> what do you mean? why? >> to have this public debate about privacy versus security,

but i agree with anna, that he needs to pay for what he did because he did break the law, and in that sense, technically he's not a whistle-blower, and if he really would have had courage, fred, he would have stayed here and faced what is coming to him in terms of breaking the law, and had the courage to actually put his allegations on the table and put the information out there and not gone over to russia and you know, which is, frankly, a place that is xheetly t lcompletely t of what he pretends to represent. we are having this debate but frankly most people right now do err on the side of wanting to have their security versus privacy. there needs to be a balance, no question. >> the two of you sound sound like you're very much in agreement. i wonder, anna, if it is a good debate, at what cost does this debate come? anna?

>> well, it has come at the cost of revealing security secrets of the united states to some heem who are not our allies like folks in the government of china and folks in the government of put putin. >> is there a way to know whether it has jeopardized the safety of individuals, a group or even this country by doing this, revealing these classified data? >> frankly, fred, i think that's above all of our pay grades. we don't even know if what they're telling us is true, we don't know how many millions of reals of paper he stole. he took a lot of it. we don't know what's in them, how many are in there. there's lots of stuff we don't know. are we going to allow a contractor, a person like snowden to put us over a barrel and blackmail us and then we're going to give them amnesty, we're going to pardon them? i think that's a terrible stretch, a terrible precedent for the united states to set and

i'm happy to see the obama administration has said they're not going in that direction. >> i do think, fred, again, that i think we should think about finding a way to bring him here, because i think by having him here and by actually finding out what else he knows. >> to prosecute? >> well, let's figure that out. that's i think something we need to put on the table. i think there needs to be acknowledgment of wrongdoing. there needs to be some sort of punishment, what that looks like, i think, again, is above our pay grade, like anna said, but i think that having him out there continuing to leak this information is not a good thing for the united states. so i think we do need to think about this, the obama administration should put that on the table, maybe it's not clemency, maybe it's not amnesty, in the full sense of those words but there does need to be something to be thought of, of how can we bring him back into our atmosphere, if you will, to make sure that we know what he knows and that he's not giving it out to our, to folks

who actually do want to do us harm. >> app innna, maria, thank you much. and evan perez mentioning the president may articulate in some way what is being considered sometime next month according to the calendar that evan is privy to. ladies, appreciate it, happy new year. >> you too. barbara bush in the hospital still but receiving well wishes from presidents past and present, the latest, straight ahead.

barbara bush never pined for the spotlight but it often found her thanks to her candor and feistiness, rarely found in the spouse of any other career politici politician. today well wishes are pouring in to the hospital where the former first lady is entering her third full day. alina machado is here to give us the latest on her condition. >> we still don't know what prompted this hospitalization or what is the diagnosis. what we know is she's been in the hospital since monday and at last check a family spokesperson says her condition remains unchanged. barbara bush, the matriarch of the bush family, is back in the hospital recovering from a respiratory related issue, a family spokesperson is saying,

"she is in great spirits and is receiving fantastic care at methodist hospital in houston, texas." it's the same hospital where her husband and former president george h.w. bush spent almost two months battling a bronchitis related illness in 2012. >> i have known barbara bush since 1969. that is 44 years. having known her as i have, i have total confidence in her, period, exclamation mark. >> reporter: this is the fourth time the 88-year-old has been hospitalized in recent years, heart surgery in 2009 and hospitalized for abdominal pain in 2009 and teas with grave's disease an auto immune disorder that affects the thyroid, since 1988. her husband suffers from a form of parkinson's and is seen using a wheelchair or a scooter to get around. despite her ongoing health

issues at edgy former first lady hasn't slowed down. here she is in july in the white house and just last week she spoke at a ceremony honoring a houston philanthropist for his volunteer week. >> you deserve every bit of it and much, much more, all houston, texas, is grateful to you. >> reporter: well wishers are flooding social media, former president bill clinton among them, tweeting, "i'll be rooting for barbara bush's full recovery while she's rooting for baylor" a reference to wednesday's fiesta bowl game. >> she'll outlive us all but our love is with her because she's not just the former first lady of america, she's the first lady of our hearts, so we know that she'll pull through. >> president obama is also sending good thoughts. he released a statement saying in part, "michelle and i send our best wishes to mrs. bush for a speedy recovery. barbara is blessed to have both a loving, supportive family by her side and a vibrant spirit

that we hope will have her feeling better soon." i think you'd agree with me that's what everybody is thinking. >> we wish her the best. she holds a special place in all of our hearts, i love her candor and total shoot from the hip at all times. thanks so much, alina. all new in the next hour of "the newsroom," a former banker accused of embezzling millions of investors' dollars for nearly a year. the fbi thought he was dead, until now. >> i cannot believe he had the nerve to hide out so close to home. >> straight ahead, 10:00, hiding in plain sight, why everyone believed this man had taken his own life and how police finally caught up with him. [ male announcer ] nearly 7 million clients. how did edward jones get so big?

let me just put this away. ♪ could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. >> bingo! >> darn it! i was one square away from winning that game. >> it's a shame sadie isn't here today, she always wins. coulda won the big prize. >> you know, that could have helped her with some of jim's funeral expenses. >> there wasn't any life insurance? >> no, there wasn't. i'd been trying to convince her to call about the colonial penn program to make sure they had coverage, but she was worried they wouldn't be accepted because of their health. >> i have life insurance with them, too. i had concerns, but i didn't have to take a physical or even answer any health questions. my acceptance was guaranteed. >> well, i should get some life insurance for myself. i'm kind of on a fixed budget though. i don't know if i can afford it. >> i thought the same thing. it works out to be about 35 cents a day, that's just $9.95 a month per unit of coverage. >> i think i can afford that.

i'm gonna give them a call. >> and now you can help protect your loved ones from the burden of your final expenses with a guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance policy through the colonial penn program. in today's world, uncertainty seems to be the new norm. with life insurance through the colonial penn program, there is no uncertainty. if you're age 50 to 85, your acceptance is guaranteed. you don't have to answer any health questions or take a medical exam. you cannot be turned down because of your health. for $9.95 a month per unit of coverage, you can take an important step toward protecting your loved ones. you can have affordable quality insurance at a rate which is guaranteed to never go up. call about the colonial penn program now, and let a representative help you get started. >> g47! >> bingo! >> you didn't! ♪

checking our top stories right now, in northern california, a murder mystery surrounds a beloved priest, who was found dead inside the recolle rectory of his church. eu rechlt ka police will not say how the father died. the community is stunned by his death. >> he is a friend of mine. a tremendous person in this community, multilingual. just a tremendous person and

this is an absolutely tremendous loss not only for the st. bernard's parish, but for the community in general. >> he had taught at humble university the last ten years. actor james avery has died, playing the stern but always loving uncle phil in the fresh prince of bel-air. fresh prince co-star al fanso ri riviero tweeted this. he was a second father to me. i will miss him greatly. he was 68 years old. iraq war veteran made history wednesday when activists say he walked in to buy marijuana for recreational use. he had been the voice to legal ize pot in colorado.

casey wian is in denver. casey, how did that first full day go? >> reporter: it was really an amazing experience to be a part of and experience. i am surrounded by marijuana plants, the first day coloradoans could legally buy pot without a prescription for recreational use. it was busier than even the owners ever expected. this married couple rang in the new year by waiting outside the apothecary at 2:00 in the morning. why was it important for you guys to be here so early and be first in line? >> because we're pioneers. >> reporter: some 800 people took a number at this store day one alone, some waiting in the snow to select their preferred strain of pot. >> this will be a cross. >> reporter: the first legal

deal was done. it's been a long time coming, since the sale of alcohol resumed after the end of prohibition 80 years ago, marijuana has been on the target of authorities, rooefer madness, a propaganda film, portrays pot smokers into a life of crime and insanity. medical marijuana was allowed in 2000. it took 12 years before voters approved amendment 64, legalizing pot use and sales. >> this is the forefront. and to be part of history and to -- prohibition has ended. >> colorado residents age 21 and over can purchase up to one ounce of marijuana. out-of-staters -- >> i've been dreaming about this since i started smoking. >> no taking marijuana out of state, no consumption in public. and the main concern for law

enforcement, no driving stoned. >> if someone is drinking and driving, driving too fast or recklessly, if you're under the influence of marijuana, you're likely to be slow. we had medical marijuana in colorado for about 13 years, so we're used to dealing with people who are driving and consuming marijuana. >> for new recreational retailers, the big concern is demand and supply. here's already going for $50 per eighth an ounce. a nice problem to have. >> this has far exceeded my expectations. what an exciting day. ta's great to see all these smiling faces. >> wonder why they're smiling. now those 800 plus people who showed up at evergreen yesterday, only a little more than 400 of them were actually able to buy their marijuana, because denver city law requires pot shops to shut down at 7:00 in the evening. so there will be 400 people, at least, coming back to the store

today. so, we could see another day of long lines. >> more long lines, all right. casey wian, thanks so much. i know the merchants are very happy. still come, an estimated 105,000 hockey fans brave the cold for the winter classic. how cold was it, andy? oh, boy. >> it was the second coldest nhl hockey game in history. they maybe even set a new world record. we'll tell you about it next in your bleacher report. i quit smoking.

i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq. female announcer: get beautyrest, posturepedic, female announcer:

even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. the year end clearance sale is on now at sleep train. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

all right. let's talk sports, shall we? michigan state topped off a season by winning the granddaddy of them all in the 100th rose bowl. >> fredricka, it really surprised a lot of people. after being fifth ranked in this game, they really approved they belonged among the elite teams in college football. the 100th edition of the rose bowl, tied all the way to the fourth quarter and tied until connor cook found tony lipid for a touchdown. this happened in the fourth quarter. here it is. cook to lipid, 25 yards, putting them up by 7. then the spartan's top rated

defense, they come through. flying in there for the title. michigan state wins. sniffed out the gatorade, got out of the way. >> he flips in for the score. best part about this is reaction from his mom. she looks pretty scared in the stands. but petty was fine. >> she's crying. >> however his bears went on to lose this game. >> iowa and lsu. kicked off -- he goes 71 yards the other way for the touchdown. >> take another look. got a little too excited and he dropped the ball. >> no. come on. >> right before crossing the goal line. it wasn't a complete disaster. iowa took over on the one yard line and scored a touchdown. he played later to get on the

board and that got him off the hook. >> more than 105,000 tickets were scored. they actually had to count home people went to the game before they're going to call it a record. very impressive, considering the conditions. 13 degrees with a windchill of negative 1. play was stopped so crews could shovel snow off the ice. maple leafs beat the redwings 3-2. excited stuff. very brave fans to go out to that game. >> that is die hard all the way. forget about it. you're not going to see me out there. thanks for bringing that to us. we got to be toasty. next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins right now. good morning again, everybody. i'm fredricka whitfield in for carol costello this morning.

two days into the new year and already we're dealing with two big winter storms. one is bearing down on the midwest, bringing frigid temperatures with it. get this. temps have dropped so low in some parts of minnesota that it's literally been colder than the surface of mars. meanwhile, another storm, a powerful nor'easter, is forming off the east coast. you guessed it, this will all spell trouble for people falling home after the holidays. there have been more than 1,000 flight cancellations already this morning and more are expected. across the region, covering the weather for us. cnn's ted rowland sincere just outside chicago. we'll begin with margaret conley in boston. >> the snow came in overnight. it will pick up an inch today into tomorrow morning. from our measuring stick, we

have less than two inches. that's nothing. we're expecting up to a foot of snow here in some areas and temperatures as low as three degrees below freezing. now that's going to be -- that's going to have a lot of travel challenges for people. we have light snow. we're expecting some blizzard warnings in some areas. boston has only near blizzard conditions, bus bu that's because the light snow could blow with the strong wind. that's gths impact travel in the air. it's going to impact travel on the ground. i spoke with a department of transportation official. and he said that the concern right now is black ice on the ground. also, some flights have been canceled. there are delays there. be sure to check that if you're going anywhere. finally, public schools in boston have declared a snow day on friday. if you have kids in school, check with your school before you send them. >> nice, long weekend. what a way to start the new year. those kids are lucky, i think. margaret conley, thank you so much, in boston.

>> to ted rowlands in naperville, illinois, outside of chicago. because we like to make comparisons every now and then, there was a 115-degree temperature difference between key west, florida, and international falls, minnesota. >> well, i believe it. thank goodness we're not in international falls, minnesota. it's cold here in chicago. we've been getting snow, fred, since new year's eve day. it keeps coming and coming. the big problem is trying to keep the roads clear. luckily, it's a holiday week. traffic hasn't been horrible. they've been going 24/7, trying to tackle these roads. and, as margaret talked about, the flights. o'hare has had numerous cancellations yesterday and today as well. so, if you are flying through chicago, be prepared to possibly be delayed. >> nasty stuff. what's about the temperature

where you are? >> reporter: we're about -- in the mid 20s right now. but it's supposed to get down to single digits in the next few hours, moving into tonight. that is when everybody stops playing in the snow and gets inside and huddles around the fire. just keep warm. in chicago, when you add those temperatures and the wind, it is absolutely miserable. >> that is brutal stuff. thanks so much. ted, appreciate that. stay warm, as best you can. mission accomplished this morning. all of the 52 passengers on board that research vessel trapped in ice in antarctica have been rescued. after facing major problems and delays, researchers and journalists who were stuck on the ship since christmas eve are now rejoicing. it could still take weeks before they actually get home to austral australia. matthew chance is live for us from london. what's the hold up? why does it take so long? >> reporter: it's funny, isn't it? the weather conditions so bad across the united states, but in

antarctica it's cleared up a bit to the extent that a helicopter from a chinese vessel was able to get to that stranded vessel and air lift 52 passengers, scientists and tourists as well to the safety of a close-by australian ice breaker ship. there will be a delay to where they're going to get back. they're in a remote area of antarctica. it's making its way through the open water of pack ice. it will get orders to where it will go next. capital of the australian state of tasmania in the next few days, possibly a week or so. mid january, they'll be off that pack ice on to dry land finally. >> oh, my goodness, all right. good news to them. they've had, indeed, quite the adventure. matthew chance, thank you. today, two major newspapers published editorials, urging the

obama administration to have mercy on nsa leaker edward snowden. "the new york times" and "the guardian" of britain are praising edward snowden, calling him a whistleblower and urging the u.s. to offer him a deal so he can return to the u.s. without the threat of life in prison. the abuses he has exposed, mr. snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. he may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service. it is time for the united states to offer mr. snowden a plea bargain or some type of clemency that would allow him to return home, end quote. he faces espionage and other charges in the u.s. for giving journalists classified information about the mass phone and internet surveillance programs. cnn justice reporter, evan

perez, is live for us now in washington. what more -- what's the reaction coming from these editorials? >> reporter: well, fred, you know, this is a question that's been hotly debated in the last few months. that since edward snowden started releasing these leaked documents. the fact that he's in russia makes him different from other whistleblowers in the past. in the past, people who have done this type of thing have stayed in the country, been part of the debate. here he is in the protection of the russian secret service. is he not able to really move around very easily. i'm sure he wants to get out of there. coming back to the u.s., he would most likely be facing justice. the obama administration has had a very complicated view of this whole issue. on one hand, they welcomed the debate that has been started by these leaks. but at the same time, they're rejecting the idea that he deserves any kind of leniency or deserves, perhaps, some clemency. i asked the attorney general eric holder about this a few

weeks ago. and i think we have some sound of what he said. >> it's not something that i would support. i think that he has clearly broken the law and harmed the nation that he claims to love. the conversation that we are engaged in is one that i think is certainly worthwhile, to try to determine how do we safeguard privacy and keep the american people safe, how do we find balance in that effort with regard to our surveillance activities but i would not say that what he did is worthy of clemency. >> reporter: fred, snowden has been working with a group of journalists in brazil, germany and in the u.s. it's not clear whether you try to do some kind of clemency whether they would have to be in on the deal to give up those documents. i'm sure that's something that the u.s. government would want. >> meantime, what kind of changes have been provoked, if

any, in the nsa programs a result of this? >> reporter: well, you know, there is a big discussion going on in congress and even the president says nogs next month he will address some of this. he appoint this had panel of intelligence experts that took a look at this issue and some of what the nsa was doing was perhaps not that useful. but the question of whether or not the government should be doing this, that's something for congress to decide, something for the president to decide. these guys are politicians, right? these are people who when there's another terrorist attack -- we all know that everybody thinks there's going to be another one. the question will come back, well, what the nsa was doing, could that have prevented such an attack, fred? politicians are always very nervous about making changes that will be called into question irt on. >> justice reporter, evan perez, thank you so much. still to come, a popular photo sharing app is hacked. we'll talk to a former hacker about what you can do to protect

yourself, next. [ male announcer ] this is the story of the dusty basement at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪

♪ this magic moment humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance.

responsibility. what's your policy? all right. checking your top stories, well wishes are pouring in to a

hospital where former first lady barbara bush is now entering her third full day. she's being treat for the record a respiratory problem and, according to family and friends, her feisty attitude. >> our love is with her. she's not just the former first lady of america. she's the first lady of our hearts. so we know that she'll pull through and it will be a happy new year for everybody. >> president obama has wished her a speedy recovery. and former president bill clinton fired off this tweet, referring to mrs. bush and her love of texas college football, saying this quote, i'll be rooting for barbara bush's full recovery while she's rooting for baylor today. all my best to her and george h.w. bush. federal investigators say they found broken axel parts at

the site. they also say one of the trains involved in the crash derailed at a switch in the tracks but they found nothing unusual about the tracks or any signals. according to the ntsb, all tank cars have been removed from the rails and crews are now working to rebuild the track. u.s. secretary of state john kerry hours ago landed in televiv for peace talks. he will head to israel then to ramala. israeli government reportedly has delayed an announcement about new settlement construction. the move avoids a potentially high-profile dispute during kerry's visit. >> and skype appears to be the latest victim of hackers tied to syrian president bashir al assad. contact information for the retiring ceo of microsoft, which

owns skype, along with a message that accuses the software giant of selling user data to the government. microsoft officials have not immediately commented. yet another tech company is dealing with an embarrassing data breach. snap chat, a popular smart phone messaging app that allows people to send photos and videos that quickly disappear. hacking group has posted the names and phone numbers of more than 4 million of its users online. lori siegel is following this for us from new york. >> if you're on snap chat, have kids on snap chat, you have to be taking a step back and saying i'm a little bit concerned. 4.6 million accounts exposed in this hack. pretty significant number. phone numbers revealed in this. user names revealed and also, fredricka, this information was posted on the web and available for anybody to download. the hackers that posted it, they blurt out two digits of the phone number to say we're going

to respect your privacy to a degree but also said this would be subject to change. have you to say if you're trying to do good things, why did you put this information on the web in the first place? let me read you a statement on why they did it. they said our motivation behind the release was to raise the public awareness around the issue and also put public pressure on snap chat to get this exploit fixed. i spoke to the researchers who initially found the vulnerability. they weren't the ones who put this on line but found the vul nesht. it was there apparently for months and they never heard back from snap chat. are we good now? have you patched up this hole? what they told me last night is they may have patched it but with a couple of minor modifications, you can actually utilize this exploit. pretty eye opening, fredricka. >> oh, night gosh. indeed, it is. let's bring in the president of mitnik security.com and formerly

the most wanted criminal but now he hacks for the good guys. good to see you, kevin. if skype and snap chat are vulnerable, is your private information safe anywhere? >> i think the nsa has proved what was said years ago. you have no privacy. get over it. with respect to that snap chat hack, it wasn't that the hackers actually broke into snap chat. what they were able to do is to -- what you can do is you could abuse their service so if you have a valid telephone number of a snap chat user, you could associate what user name or display name that that phone number is attached to. all these guys did was basically take up telephone numbers and you could download these telephone numbers at sites like telco data, us.net. they ran through this list

incrementally to rebuild the database, to see that that phone number actually had a valid snap chat user associated with it. so, it was a way they were able to abuse their service, because snap chat did not limit how many requests somebody could do to their database. so, this was easy to do because they were just able to make these requests over and over and over again until they were able to get 4.6 billion users. >> so, kevin, how do we protect ourselves? every time you sign up for something, a service, make a purchase, you have to put in your personal information, your address, phone number, maybe you have to create a password. what really can we do to protect ourselves since it seems like every site is vulnerable to hackers? >> well, first of all, with snap chat you can always just elect not to put your phone number there. that eliminates that vulnerability. across the board, you could do -- like if i sign up for -- if i order something online, i

set up a special e-mail address just for orders so all the orders only go to this one particular e-mail address, i guess you could also set up a mail drop or type of service like mailboxes, et cetera, u.p.s. store, so you only use that particular address that's not associated with your home address. to tell you the truth, there are databases out there that anybody can subscribe to where you could look up anyone's social security number, date of birth, current address and a lot of personal information. and it costs about 25 to 50 cents a look up. so the bad guys want to get your information, there's really not anything out there stopping them. >> all right. very sobering information for me. and i know for you, too, laurie. and you're miss tech savvy over

there. hopefully, we all learned a little something and can better protect ursz as we go online. thank you so much. >> thank you. everyone thought he was dead, suicide, after being accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars from investors. how police finally nab this had former banker and where he was hiding all of this time. ♪ [ male announcer ] even more impressive than the research this man has at his disposal is how he puts it to work for his clients. morning. morning. thanks for meeting so early. come on in. [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

justice may have finally have come. disappeared in an apparent suicide, at the same time wanted for embezzlement. he was declared legally dead but just this week, police say they recognized him when they pulled him over for having tinted windows and they knew right away he much more to hide. here is ana cabrera. >> reporter: vanished more than a year ago in an apparent suicide. nearly a year after he was

presumed dead, the fugitive was apprehended by police in a traffic stop on new year's eve. >> i cannot believe he had the nerve to hideout so close to home, number one. >> reporter: price is alleged to have embezzled $21 million, more than 100 investors between 2010 and 2012. prosecutors say instead of investing money held at montgomery bank and trust where he worked, he created a dummy company in new york to funnel the funds through fraudulent wire transfers and phoney investments. before going on the run, price wrote a 22-page confession letter to his family, saying he planned to kill himself off the coast of florida by jumping off a ferryboat. the letter was the beginning of an elaborate plan to stage his own suicide. these photos show price dressed in shorts and t-shirt, arriving at the key west airport. the day of his disappearance that year. >> a bag he is towing behind him. might be packd with investor

money for all i know. >> reporter: surveillance video shows him at the ferry terminal in key west where he let investigators and his family believe he took his own life. the fbi continued to look for him without evidence of a body. that search ended tuesday thanks to a glen county georgia sheriff who stopped his vehicle for having darkly tinted windows. the bold fugitive will now be brought to justice. he faces up to 30 years in prison. >> ana cabrera joins us. where is the money? >> we don't know where the money is, where he has been hiding. we don't even know, for sure, whether his family knew he was alive all this time, fred. there are a lot of questions that police are still investigating. he could get 30 years in prison or in jail just for the money fraud crimes, let alone the additional crimes now he will be facing, charges he will be facing for escaping and eluding police, faking his own death.

a lot more to this one. >> the plot thickens. thank you so much. ana cabrera, appreciate it. big storm headed for the big apple. alexandra field is there, live. >> reporter: fredricka, we're talking about bone-chilling temperatures in the forecast and a whole lot of snow in new york city. officials have crews working around the clock. we'll bring you a live report, coming up.

[ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at...

[ thump ] to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

welcome back. nasty weather is slamming the northeast, prompting a snow emergency in boston and blizzard warnings for long island and cape kod. officials there say travel is extremely dangerous and it's about to get even worse with a powerful nor'easter now headed to the region. forecasters say the big apple will get five to ten inches of snow. cnn's alexandra field is there. officials are taking this very seriously. they're getting ready. aren't they? >> a lot of snow. bitterly cold temperatures. yes, there's a plan of attack in place. it's already under way right now, fredricka. behind me is the warehouse full of salt.

trucks have been coming in all morning, trying to get the roads ready for this. 1,600 plows are attached to new york city garbage trucks right now. starting now, crews will be out there, around the clock, working 12-hour shifts. 2,300 people out at a time, because we're talking five to ten inches of snow, maybe in the six to eight range here in new york city and more than that out on long island where they're also expecting blizzard-like conditions. cold and snowy start to the new year here. crews are trying to get out in front of thing. if you can stay home and enjoy the end of this holiday weekend, it's cold out here. why not, fred? >> i guess the timing is pretty good that it's up against the first weekend of the new year. so at least folks, if they haven't made it quite back to work yet, they still have a little bit of extra time. alexandra field. >> hopefully, no travel in your future. >> exactly. stay put. thanks so much. in new york.

checking your other stories now, a car bomb has ripped through a residential neighborhood in beirut, killing four people, adding to tensions in the lebanese capital. this is video just now coming in. today's blast was so violent it was found in nearby neighborhoods. a car bomb last week killed a former ambassador to the u.s. all the 52 passengers on board a research vessel trapped in ice, in antarctica have been rescued. after facing major delays a helicopter from a chinese ice breaker carried them to another ship. the team of researchers and journalists were there to study climate change but got stuck in unusually thick ice on christmas eve. 22 crew members are staying on board the ship until the ice breaks. minneapolis firefighters hope to get inside that burned-out apartment building we showed you yesterday at about this time. three residents are believed to be missing after an explosion and fire yesterday.

at least 14 people were hurt, six of them critically. some people jumped from third floor windows to escape. freezing weather hampered the rescue efforts. nsa leaker edward snowden is a wanted man charged with espionage and on the run. two major newspapers are calling on president obama to give snowden clemency so he can return to the u.s. "the new york times" and britain's "the guardian" are praising snowden's leaks, calling him a whistleblower. "the times" writes this, quote, considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed and the abuses he has exposed mr. snowden deserves better than life of a permanent exile, fear and flight. and "the guardian writes, we hope the u.s. is working on a

solution to allow mr. snowden to return to the u.s. with dignity. aclu speech and private technology project, and jeffrey toobin, cnn senior legal analyst. happy new year to both of you. ben, let me begin with you. why shouldn't snowden face charges? didn't he take classified information and make a decision on his own how to publicize that info? >> well, i think that "the new york times" makes the case very powerfully, and i urge your viewers to go to "the new york times" and see it. i think it boils down to the following. the disclosure that is mr. snowden is responsible for vastly improved a much, much needed public debate, both in the united states and around the world. the claims that they caused damage are hugely overblown. he had no alternative but to do it in the way that he did, because the people who were responsible for oversight of these programs already knew about what he reported and

hadn't done anything about it. and the law, under which he would be prosecuted if he were to return to the united states, would not allow him to make a public interest defense, would not allow him to say what i just said, that these disclosures were valuable, they didn't cause harm. in fact, they revealed programs that will be found unconstitutional by open courts. they're strict liability defenses under u.s. law. prosecutors would be able to lock him up for life without the jury ever hearing about the benefits of the disclosures. >> what would give edward snowden the justification to be the one who sets precedent? as an american citizen, anyone could make the determination to respect the law or not. wouldn't that be the case if he were to be given asylum? >> let me say this. edward snowden would not be the first person in the last ten years to get this kind of clemency. he would most certainly be the most deserving. washington is full of people who broke the law by lying to

congress, by engaging in illegal spying, by ordering the torture of prisoners. we haven't seen pro prosecutions of those officials or a lot of hand ringing about the precedent that's going to be set by not prosecuting those people. so, let's not get on a high horse and say, oh, dear, if we don't prosecute this person, we're going to set a bad precedent. that precedent has been set. the difference is that what edward snowden did, in violating the letter of the law, vastly impro improved the situation. what the officials did vastly harmed the u.s. in the world. >> edward snowden is doing what many others have done prior to and why should he be prosecuted? >> he should be prosecuted because he broke the law in a very dramatic and egregious way. i don't think someone in my position can deny that he has started an import debate. what we will never know is whether that debate could have

gotten started if he had done it the right way. if he had gone to senator ron whieden of oregon and said look at these documents. you could bring these out to the public in a way that i can't, but you could do it legally. no. snowden took it upon himself to decide he was above the law and disclose them. one thing i think is very important here that ben didn't mention, that these editorials didn't mention is where did snowden go? he went to china and he went to russia. two oppressive countries. >> places he wouldn't get the kind of freedoms that he professes he's really not get nth u.s. when, in fact, he does. >> more to the point also, his computers contain the keys to our national security apparatus, to the national security agency. those now -- perhaps ben thinks not -- are now in the hands of chinese intelligence and successors to the kgb.

something that we should give him credit for? i don't think so. >> ben? >> it's a fabrication. jeff has said this over and over again. saying it 20 times doesn't make it any more true than saying it one time. >> what's the fabrication? >> it's a fabrication that edward snowden's that somehow contain secrets or something are in the hands of chai nieces or russian officials. there's no evidence to the contrary, he's saying he did not carry anything on his computers or hard drives. it was his job in the nsa on how to train officials on how to evade secret being compromised. nsa lost control of it. there's not a shred of evidence that either edward snowden or the journalists with whom he has worked have lost control. if he had -- if china and russia had access to this trove

somehow, you wouldn't see top level nsa officials going on television and saying we need to talk to this guy about clemency. they wouldn't want to have that conversation. i think it's important that your viewers know there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that china or russia got access to this. one more point i want to -- >> actually, we have a clip of that, that you refer to. let's watch that, from "60 minutes." >> he's already said if i got amnesty, i would come back. given the potential damage to national security, what would your thought on making a deal be? >> so my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. i would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured and my bar for those assurances would be very high. it would be more than just an assertion on his part. >> jeffrey, what's at stake? the obama administration has to weigh as well, you know,

entertain the idea or have discussions about granting clemency, what's at the stake for the u.s. if they were to seriously entertain that, this administration were to seriously entertain that, extend that kind of reprieve? >> what the government has to decide is whether it's worth it to get this stuff back. ben says it's not in the hands of the former kgb, successors of the kgb or the chinese officials. where are all the things that snowden took with him illegally? i don't know the answer to that. i don't think the nsa knows. they've got to know. he has the keys to the can incorporate dom there. he has some leverage. no doubt about it. >> any government official would have a hard time trusting the word of edward snowden, whether he still has compromising information or not. >> i think the important thing is that any discussion be between edward snowden and the

united states not rely on trust on either side. i think both have reason not to trust the other but be built on verifiable agreements. one point jeff made, that he should have gone to congress instead of going to "the guardian" newspaper and the washington post. the intelligence committees knew. ron whieden was on the floor of the senate saying if the american people only knew what i knew, they would be outraged. turns out senator whieden was right. when the american people did learn, not from him but edward snowden and "the washington post," they were outraged. there was no other channel than the one mr. snowden chose, which was to go to the public. >> thank you very much, gentlemen. we'll leave it there. and we'll be right back. cer ] this is the story of the little room over the pizza place

at 315 chestnut street. the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the dusty basement at 1406 35th street. it is the story of the old dining room table at 25th and hoffman avenue. the southbound bus barreling down i-95. ...and the second floor above the strip mall at roble and el camino. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. ♪ so different and so new where those with endless vision and an equal amount of audaciousness believed they had the power to do more. time and time again. ♪ and then, it happened at dell, we're honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. stories that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- # 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪

unisom sleeptabs help you fall asleep 33% faster and wake refreshed. unisom. a stressful day deserves a restful night.

it was a major of two corporate types. the legal battle between martha stewart and macy's is over. the retailer sued when martha started selling her products at jcpenney while under an exclusive contract with macy's. alison kosik is live with this.

nice big smooch and handshake for all parties? >> hard to tell if that happened. martha and macy's battle has come to an end. it's been one of the more testier legal battles around. macy's sued martha stewart living for breach of contract, accusing martha stewart's company for violating an exclusive agreement with macy's to sell martha stewart products. martha stewart cookware, bedding and bath products but stewart's company signed a merchandising deal with swrchlt c penny in december 2011 to open martha stewart home shops in jcpenney stores. that's what prompted macy's to sue both martha stewart's company and jcpenney. they say it does not impact the ongoing lawsuit that they have with jcpenney and the terms of the settlement with martha stewart are confidential. >> does this end all problems involving martha stewart? >> good question and not so fast. you look at martha stewart's

company. 's been battling a lackluster market i marketing. revenue still fell 22%, being pummeled by weakness in broadcast and publishing. macy's has been enjoying strong sales and profits, rising 20% in the latest quarter. jcpenney has been trying to right the ship. it's been the worst performing stock on the s & b 500 before the actual company got booted off the s & b 500. makes you wonder if she has any agree re grets going from jcpenney and away from macy's. >> she has a lot of irons in the fire. >> i think so. >> something tells me she has a pretty good master plan plan i would imagine. >> sure. >> what's in store for 2014? "time" magazine just released what it calls the user guide for the year, what you should be on the lookout for, next.

keeping up with these two is more than a full time job and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections,

including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we.

we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? all right. last year seemed to just come and go in a blink. plenty of events certainly kept our attention from the appointment of a new pope to the birth of a royal baby. so, what's ahead for 2014? any predictions? well, "time" magazine has a few things up its sleeve. it just released its latest

issue featuring what it calls a user guide for 2014. cnn's global economic analyst and assisting editor for "time." nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> people just simply fascinate us all. you say really topping the list is janet yellin, who just, indeed, may be one of the most powerful people. why? >> well, she's the incoming or very soon to be the incoming chair of the federal reserve. and her big task for this year is going to be addressing the ongoing unemployment problem in this country. you know, we are several years into a recovery now. unemployment is still historically high. she has really committed to this she's a labor economist. she is someone who has stressed again and again someone who understands the human costs. we're not just talking about dry figures here. if you think about unemployment

as the biggest economic and possibly even cultural and social problem of our era, then she's the person who really is in the position to do most about it right now. >> talking about fresh starts, you know, say this year, 2014, you've got a baby on the way or baby just born in 2014, is there a way to kind of look into the crystal ball about what their life is likely to be like? >> absolutely. for starters, it's going to be dominated by technology. they are going to be not only the generation that's born with gadgets and lives and breathes digital media, but they'll be learning through electronics, computers and the internet. one thing that's very interesting is the next generation of children being born is likely to be heavier than those in the past. and that has some interesting implications, possibly for longevity. it's possible that this generation could live less long than their parents. >> heavier because they're sedentary and playing these electronic gadgets? >> well, hopefully not that yet

at birth, but they are heavier. and that has health implications. it will be interesting to see how that plays out. >> very fascinating. speaking of digital technology and all that good stuff, tech companies, all the big companies responsible for training our new habits, what is likely in store for them? or is there a company that will dominate? >> you know, one of the companies that we profile is square, a company that enables retailers to take credit card payments via tablets. you've probably seen these. you go into the hair salon now, coffee shop and you can just use your credit card very seamlessly. that mooen movement away from cash will continue. there's another company with a product called coin that is enabling us to colate all our credit cards on to one. >> speaking of security breaches

and all that stuff, that makes me nervous on that front. so, speaking of fear, let's talk about the fear index. and what's on it. >> well, this is one of my favorite things. the good news first, you should worry less about asteroids and less about a government shutdown, looking less likely for this year. but you should worry more about shark attacks. they ever on the rise. >> what? >> possibly because of -- yes, shark attacks are on the rise. last year there were 53 of them, down a little bit from 2012. they're expected to keep going. some scientists think this is because of global warping and ecosystems. they're moving sharks around. >> getting confused in the water, not necessarily because they have a new appetite for humans? but just -- >> no. they're getting confused. >> has something to do with the planet? >> that's right. >> the old warming thing, okay. thank you so much. and happy new year. >> happy new year to you. still to come, a side of

quarterback a.j. mccaron that you haven't seen before. >> i was holding tears back right there, just hearing his story and him having cerebral palsy. >> mccaron's special friendship with another alabama student named a.j. [ bottle ] okay, listen up! i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. [ all gasp ] oj, veggies -- you're cool. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! 'cause i'm re-workin' the menu, keeping her healthy and you on your toes. [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. i see you, cupcake! uh-oh! [ bottle ] the number one doctor recommended brand. ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

a.j. mccaron leads alabama in the sugar bowl tonight, crimson tide where he has helped to win two national championships, but one of mccaron's most when he developed a special relationship with a special student and andy scholes pick it is up from here. get your hanky ready. >> such a great story. one day when mccaron was leaving practice, he noticed a student who missed a bus. he went over and offered him a ride. turns out the student's name was also a.j. and he suffer friday cerebral palsy. since that ride home together the two have developed a special relationship. take a look. >> nice. >> always remembered him watching football through the cracks of our fence, just so he can see a glimpse of the team, standing in rain and, you know, cold weather, whatever it was.

just because he wanted to be around the game. when we had gotten done with practice and i saw two buses starting to pull away. i saw a.j. i could tell, you know, he had some type of disorder and tried to raise his hand at the bus, at the two buses and they just pulled off. it was starting to rain. and so i just felt bad. >> i heard someone say, hey, man, you need a ride? >> he just had this big smile on his face, like, yeah. >> as i got close to him, i was like, that's a.j. mccarron. >> i was taking him home. he lives right down the street. i said i'm a.j. mccarron. >> i said, yeah, i know who you are. my name's a.j. also. >> if that's not a message from above, i don't know what is. i was holding tears back, hearing this story of him having cerebral palsy and how it

happened to him. umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck when he was in his mom's stomach, cut off his a airway. >> having cerebral palsy, it's kind of hard to go out into the real world and sort of meet people. >> he got out of the car and i start eed bawling, crying. i couldn't handle it anymore. i called our directors of operations and told him the story and said is there any way we can get him a job here? he called me back the next day and said he's going to help in the equipment room, getting all the stuff ready for the games. he's not going to get paid. and i told a.j. that. he said i don't even want to get paid i want to be here, be around the team. >> i was so excited. that i get to be around the football players and just interacting with all the guys.

i'm so thankful for all a.j. and this organization has done for me. >> i feel like he has taught me more or given me more than i've actually given him. >> every time i come here, no matter how bad my day is or what i may go through, when i come here, it goes out the window, you know. i'm probably the happiest man on this planet. >> such a great story. you can watch both a.j.s tonight in the sugar bowl. alabama will take on oklahoma. >> i love that friendship. >> you can't help but root for a.j. mccarron after something like this. >> indeed. >> thank you so much for bringing that to us, andy. >> you're welcome.

straight ahead i'm fredricka whitfield. "legal view" with ashleigh banfield starts right now. deep freeze. deep snow. we could be in some deep trouble in the northeast in just the hours that lie ahead. flights are already canceled. schools are already closing. but just how bad is this actually going to get? and also this hour, why would someone murder a revered priest in his own rectory? police search for suspects as his congregation struggles to make sense of this murder tragedy. and the banker who supposedly committed suicide after being accused of milking investors out of millions looks like a